Senate moves to ban Chinese researchers from U.S. national labs amid espionage fears

By avagrace // 2025-03-23

Copy

Republican lawmakers led by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), introduced the Guarding American Technology from Exploitation (GATE) Act to ban foreign researchers from adversarial nations (China, Russia, Iran, North Korea and Cuba) from accessing the Department of Energy's 17 national laboratories.
The bill addresses evidence that foreign adversaries, particularly China, have exploited U.S. labs to steal sensitive research and recruit scientists, with nearly 8,000 of 40,000 foreign researchers in 2023 coming from China and Russia.
Former U.S. researchers have reportedly aided China in developing advanced military technologies, such as hypersonic missiles and deep earth-penetrating warheads, through programs like the Thousand Talents Plan.
The GATE Act includes a waiver allowing the energy secretary to grant exceptions for foreign researchers if deemed beneficial to U.S. national security, though critics argue this could still leave vulnerabilities.
The bill reflects a growing debate over balancing national security with the need for global scientific collaboration, as the U.S. seeks to protect its technological edge while addressing the risks posed by adversarial nations like China.

In a bold move to safeguard America’s most sensitive scientific research, Republican lawmakers are pushing to ban foreign researchers from adversarial nations – including China – from accessing U.S. national laboratories. The proposed legislation, known as the Guarding American Technology from Exploitation (GATE) Act, aims to close what lawmakers describe as glaring security gaps that have allowed hostile regimes to exploit American innovation for their own military and technological gain. Introduced by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), the bill targets scientists from China, Russia, Iran, North Korea and Cuba. Scientists from the five adversary nations would be barred from working in or accessing the Department of Energy's (DOE) 17 national laboratories. These labs are at the forefront of cutting-edge research in energy, nuclear deterrence, and advanced technology—areas critical to both U.S. national security and global competitiveness. (Related: Iran, Russia, China unite against US sanctions, demand end to 'unlawful' coercion in global power play.) The urgency behind the bill stems from mounting evidence that foreign adversaries, particularly China, have systematically targeted American labs to steal intellectual property and recruit top scientists. According to Cotton’s office, nearly 8,000 of the 40,000 foreign scientists who accessed these labs in fiscal year 2023 were from China and Russia. This means one in five foreign researchers entering these facilities hailed from nations the U.S. considers its most dangerous adversaries. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has long been accused of using programs like the Thousand Talents Plan to lure scientists trained in the U.S. back to China, where their expertise is used to advance Beijing’s military ambitions. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), a co-sponsor of the bill, warned that former DOE researchers have already helped China develop hypersonic missiles, deep earth-penetrating warheads and advanced submarines – weapons designed to counter U.S. military superiority.

How U.S. labs became a target for exploitation

While the GATE Act would prohibit non-citizen researchers from adversarial nations from working at DOE labs, it includes a waiver process. The energy secretary could grant exceptions for academic visitors if their participation is deemed to provide a clear benefit to U.S. national security. However, critics argue that such waivers could still leave the door open to exploitation. Cotton has emphasized the lack of reciprocity in U.S.-China scientific collaboration. While American researchers are barred from accessing China's most sensitive facilities, Chinese scientists have enjoyed relatively unrestricted access to U.S. labs. This imbalance, he argues, has allowed Beijing to exploit American openness while shielding its own research from foreign scrutiny. The concerns are not unfounded. A 2021 report by Strider Technologies revealed that at least 162 former scientists from Los Alamos National Laboratory – home to the development of the world's first atomic bomb – were recruited by Beijing to work on its military programs over the past three decades. In 2020, a former Los Alamos scientist was sentenced to five years of probation for lying about his involvement in the Thousand Talents Program. The GATE Act builds on existing restrictions included in the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, which bars citizens of China, Russia, Iran and North Korea from accessing certain national security research sites. The initial provision applies to the Los Alamos, Lawrence Livermore and Sandia national laboratories. However, the new bill seeks to expand these restrictions to all 17 DOE labs – a move supported by former DOE Undersecretary Paul Dabbar. The Energy Department official under the first Trump administration cited "a whole generation of successful efforts by communist China in stealing stuff" to justify the expansion. The debate over foreign researchers in U.S. labs is part of a broader conversation about balancing national security with the need to attract global talent. While the U.S. has long benefited from the contributions of international scientists, the risks posed by adversarial nations like China have forced lawmakers to reconsider the cost of openness. Visit NationalSecurity.news for more similar stories. Watch this clip of U.S. President Donald Trump expressing worry about the DeepSeek AI from China. This video is from the Cynthia's Pursuit of Truth channel on Brighteon.com.

NATURAL NEWS

How U.S. labs became a target for exploitation

More related stories: